TMNT Kids
by Crimson-Majix
Summary: What happens when our favorite mutant turtles come across four young girls in the streets? How will the family change and how will it stay the same? Pending overhaul.
1. Alley Way

It was a cold night in New York. The sidewalks were empty and the streets were not as packed with cars as usual. No one wanted to be out on this cold of a night, not even Leonardo, but he knew that he was going to go insane if he didn't get out of the layer and get some fresh air. He had asked his brothers to come with him, but they had said no. So, he had gone out alone. He kept moving, trying to keep his blood follow up when he saw four small girls in an ally across the street. They were looking through the garbage, obviously looking for something to eat. Leo crossed the street, unseen, and perched himself above them on a fire escape. He listened in to their conversation.

"Hikari, I'm cold," the smallest girl said. She had short hair in an almost boyish cut that was a greyish-brown. She wore glasses and had hazel eyes. The jacket she was wearing was about two sizes too small and her jeans had holes in them.

"There's nothing I can do," the girl who must have been Hikari said. She was the tallest and hadshort, snow whitehair. Her eyes were a cloudy grey. She was wearing an ugly brown trench coat about six sizes too big for her.

"But I'm really cold," the short haired girl said.

"Quit whining, Ren," another girl said. She had short, grayish-black hair and her eyes wherea really dark gray, almost black. Her futures made her look a little Japanese. The girl was wearing faded jeans and a winter jacket. She looked at the shivering girl and thought for a moment. Rolling her eyes, she took off her jacket and wrapped it around the smaller girl.

"Thanks, Aura," Ren said, softly. She shoved her arms through the sleeves and zipped up the jacket.

"Hikari, when are we going to find something to eat?" the fourth girl asked. She had brown hair and eyes. Her jacket was very light and her black pants were too thin to give the girl much warmth. Hikari sighed.

"I don't know, Hinata," Hikari answered. She looked at Aura. "Where's your coat?"

"Ren has it," Aura answered simply.

"Why?"

"'Cause she was whining and it was giving me a headache."

"Are you sure you don't actually like me, Aura?" Ren asked, smirking.

"Me, like you? Pffft. No way." Leo could tell Aura was trying to hide her feelings. He smiled. She reminded him of Raphael. Raph never showed his feelings, but they were easy enough to decipher when you knew the turtle well enough. Leo looked at the girls and felt bad for them. Silently, he climbed up the fire escape and went to the opposite side of the roof. Pulling out his shell cell, he called Raph.

"This had better be good, Leo. I'm watching wresting." Raph growled into the phone.

"Get Mikey and Donni and meet me by the old butcher shop on First Street. I found four girls and…" Leo was cut off by Raph.

"Never thought you would try to set us up with someone, Leo."

"It's not like that. They're homeless little girls. I might need some help getting them to a homeless shelter." There was silence on the other end as Raph thought it through. Leo then heard Raph call his other brothers. He heard his three brothers talking. After a minute, Raph spoke.

"We're coming, with trench coats. Be there in a few." Leo went back to watching the three girls. He could tell they were tired and wanted to eat a warm meal. After two minutes, his brothers arrived.

"Where are they?" Donatello asked. He was wearing a trench coat and hat along with Raph and Michelangelo. Donni held out another trench coat and hat to Leo. Leo put on the disguise before answering.

"Down in the ally looking through the garbage for something to eat."

"How old are they?" Mikey asked.

"I'd say not even ten," Leo answered.

"Are you sure you want to send them to a homeless shelter?" Donni asked. "The shelters here are so busy. They don't need more kids to look after."

"Where do you suggest we take them, Don?" Leo asked. There was an edge to his voice.

"We could take them home with us," Mikey suggested. Raph smacked his little brother upside the head. "What was that for?"

"You're talkin' nonsense, Mikey. Like Master Splinter would allow that" Raph said.

"Maybe he would," Mikey shot back. "We could call him."

"Why would you want a bunch of drooling brats hangin' around the layer anyway?"

"They're sweet kids who are looking for a home," Leo said, defending the four small girls. "We could at least keep them until we think of a plan."

"I like that idea," Donni said.

"I don't," Raph said. "Let's just drop the little ankle bitters off at a shelter and go home." Donni looked at his shell cell.

"It's too late to drop them off anyway," he said. Leo pulled out his cell again and Raph sighed in defeat. Master Splinter answered on the second ring.

"Hello, Leonardo," Master Splinter answered.

"Hi, Sensei. I was out when I noticed some little girls in the ally. They look as if they don't have anywhere to go. Can we bring them home, just until we figure out what to do with them?" There was silence on the other end. After a minute, Master Splinter answered.

"Yes, my son. I shall prepare some tea, they must be cold."

"And some food? They're looking through the garbage for food."

"Of course, Leonardo." Leo said bye to his master and hung up. He looked to his brothers.

"Shall we go get them?" Leo asked. Mikey and Donni nodded. Raph wasn't as enthusiastic.


	2. Meetings

The four brothers went silently down another fire escape on the other side of the building, not wanting to scare the girls. They walked quickly and turned into the ally. The girls didn't notice them until Leo cleared his throat. The girls whorled around. Aura stepped in front of Ren and Hikari was blocking Hinata. "What do you want?" Hikari asked. There was an edge to her voice.

"We want to help," Leo said kindly. "I'm Leonardo and these are my brothers, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo." He pointed to each brother as he said their name.

"Why would ya' wanna help us?" Aura asked. She narrowed her eyes at the four brothers before her.

"Because we know what it's like to be searching for food," Donni answered. "Why don't you come and spend the night with us? In the morning we'll think about what to do."

The three smaller girls looked at Hikari. She thought about it for a moment and then looked to Aura. Aura shrugged slightly. Hikari nodded back. "Okay, but if we're going to go with you, we need to see your faces." The boys stiffened. They looked to Leo. They all thought they wouldn't have to show their faces until they were in the layer. Leo thought about it for a moment and decided that it was now or never to reveal themselves. He nodded to his brothers. Taking a couple steps into the shadows, they took off their disguises. Hikari, Ren, and Hinata gasped. Aura didn't say a word.

"They're giant turtles!" Ren shrieked with excitement.

"Would ya' keep it down, Air-For-Brains?" Aura asked Ren. "Your gonna alert everyone in New York and I don't think they want that." Ren pouted and Aura rolled her eyes. Leo and Donni couldn't help but smile. They were too much like Mikey and Raph.

"Before we do anything else, what are your names?" Donni asked.

"I'm Hikari and this is Hinata, Aura, and Ren." Hikari said. She pointed to each girl in turn.

"How old are you?" Mikey asked.

"Hina and I are eight, but I'm older. Aura and Ren are seven, but Aura's half ayear older than Ren." Hikari said. Mikey nodded. He looked at Hina and saw her shivering, along with Aura. He looked to Raph, who gave him his trench coat. Mikey slowly walked forward and held out the two coats to the shivering girls. Hina took hers gratefully. Aura reluctantly grabbed hers.

"Better?" he asked smiling. Hina hid behind Hikari. Aura nodded and muttered thanks.

"We should get going, Leo," Raph said.

"How do you want to get back?" Donni asked. "The sewers would be warmer, but going through the warehouse is less smelly." Leo thought about it for a moment. He looked at the four girls and decided they would be better off in the sewers.

"Can you four handle a little smell?" Leo asked. "It'd be warmer to go that way." Hikari nodded. Ren crinkled her nose.

"I don't like the smell of the sewers," she whined. Aura went over to her and took the girls arm and put her hand to her nose.

"Smell your hand," she said. Aura turned and went over to a corner in the ally. She picked up four duffle bags. Handing one to each girl, she waited for the turtles to tell her what to do. Leo walked forward until he got to a manhole. Opening it, he went down. Raph went over to the manhole.

"I'll lower ya' down ta' Leo," he said.

"I can hold on to your bags if you want me to," Donni said. He walked over to the manhole and stood on the other side.

"Who's first?" Raph asked, smiling slightly. It was obvious that Raph was warming up to the girls. Aura stepped forward. Donni smiled and held his hand out for her bag. She reluctantly gave it up. Picking her up from underneath the arms, Raph lowered Aura down to his older brother. Leo took the girl from him and set her down next to him.

"I'm sending Aura's stuff down," Donni called.

"All right, Don," Leo called back. Aura watched as Donni put his arm through the manhole, lowering the duffle bag. Leo grabbed it and handed it back to Aura, who moved out of the way.

"Next?" Raph asked. Ren gave Hina a little push forward. Hina looked at Hikari, who nodded in encouragement. Hina handed Donni her bag and let Raph lift her. Aura was waiting at the bottom. She put a hand on Hina's shoulder and gave her a smile. Hina took her stuff from Leo. After Hina, Ren went. Hikari was the last one to be lowered. Leo then gently shoved the four girls out of the way as Raph and Donni jumped down. Mikey climbed down a ways and then closed the manhole cover. He then jumped off the rung he was on.

"This way," Leo said with a smile. He started to walk with Donni on his right. The four girls followed. Ren still had her hand on her face. Raph and Mikey were following close behind.


	3. Home

They walked down the sewers in silence. Raph notcied that Ren would glance at Aura everynow and then. She wore the same expression that Mikey did when he was plainning on annoying him. Suddenly, Ren poked Aura. "Poke," she said.

"Stop," Aura said, sharply.

"But I'm bored," Ren complained. "Poke." She poked Aura again. Aura smacked Ren's hand away. Ren cried out. Leo looked over his shoulder.

"Why don't we keep our hands to ourself?" Leo asked, gently. He wore a small smile on his beak.

"Sorry," Ren and Aura mumbled, simotaniously. Mikey noticed that Ren still had her hand to her nose. He wondered if the sewer really smelt that bad. This part was generally not as smelly as the other sections. He then looked at Donni. He could see that his older brother was thinking about something. Don was looking off into space, not really watching where he was going.

"How long have you been on the streets?" Donni asked.

"A week," Hikari said.

"Where were you before then," Leo asked.

"At a shelter," Aura answered. Ren had started to make faces at her, so she stuck out her tounge at the smaller girl. Hikari saw and got in between them.

"Why'd ya' leave?" Raph asked.

"They were mean," Ren whinned. Leo looked over his shoulder again. He was confused.

"How were they mean?" he asked.

"They yelled at us all the time," Hikari said, sadly. Leo looked to Donni. They had been planing on sending the grils to a shelter, but now he wasn't so sure it was the right place for them. He then wondered what they should do with the four girls. He didn't have much time to think about it because they had arrived at the layer. It was all decked out in furniture and training gear. There was a small bridge running over a small pond full of lake water. There were ramps, a couch, and fourteen TV's of all different shapes, sizes, makes, models, and colors stacked on top of each other. A little to the left was a desk with papers, gadget parts, tools, a computer, and little knick-knacks all over it. In what looked like a small dojo was a sort of workout gym area with all kinds of different gym equipment. The other part of the dojo was what looked to be a training area and it had mats laid out on the ground and weapons of all sorts on wooden racks. Behind the dojo was a screen door, the kind you can see the shadows of the people behind it. To the left was a door way that led to the kitchen. On the wall across from them was a large door that had blue markings on it. Next to the door were stairs that led to a second story with nine rooms spread around place was dome shaped and it had a very high celing and a few pipes along the top. The four girls stood, wide eyed and paralyzed.

"This way," Leo said, leading them to the kitchen. He could smell chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Master Splinter was waiting in the kitchen. He bowed when the group entered. The girls' eyes went wide, but they didn't seem too scared of the large rat standing in front of them.

"I am Master Splinter. I welcome you to my home," Master Splinter said. "Please, sit and eat. You must be hungry." The gray rat gestured towards the old kitchen table. It had four bowls of soup each with a plate with a grilled cheese sandwhich next to it. The girls quitely sat down at the table and stared at the food, not sure what to do. Raph, Mikey and Donni were leaning against the counter, Leo stood next to them. Master Splinter was leaning on his walking stick next to Leo.

"You can eat," Leo said, kindly. The four girls blushed and started to eat. The four turtles looked at each other. They all knew they had some decisions to make. Master Splinter noticed.

"If you girls would excuse me and my sons for a minute," he said, signaling with his paw for his sons to follow him. Hikari finished chewing and nodded.

"Okay," she said.

"If you finish before we come back, just place your dishes in the sink," Donni said kindly. Hikari nodded. The four girls watched the family as they left and then went back to finishing their dinner.

The four turtles followed their master into his room and knelt before him. Master Splinter could see the confusion in his sons' eyes. "You do not know what to do with these girls," he stated.

"Yes, Sensei," Leo said. "What should we do?" he asked.

"That is not up to me, my son. You are all ninja masters now. You must be able to make decisions for yourselves. I can not interfere. All I can do is support your decision."

"Yes, Master Splinter," Leo said. He stood up, along with his brothers. They bowed to their Master. Turning they all left to go check on the girls. They walked into the kitchen to find Aura placing her dishes into the sink. She was obviously the last one finished, because there were no other dishes on the table. Ren had her head down and her eyes closed. The older three looked up at the turtles. Aura walked over to Ren and shook her away.

"Get up," Aura said. Ren groaned.

"No," she said. Hikari got up and went over to Ren.

"Get up, now," Hikari said. Ren sighed and lifted her head. She looked at the four turtles while rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Mikey thought it was the cutest thing he had ever seen. He couldn't help but smile as Ren then yawned while continuing to rub her eye with her fist.

"Guess that's a sign that ya' need some sleep," Raph said, smiling. The four girls stood up and followed the turtles up the staris.

"This is the bathroom, in case you need to use it," Donni said, pointing.

"Hikari, you can sleep in this room," Leo said, indicating the room next to the bathroom.

"Hina, that one can be yours," Donni said gesturing to the room next to Hikari's.

"Aura, ya' can use that one," Raph said, pointing to the next room over with his Sai.

"Ren, that one's yours," Mikey said, nodding towards the last room.

"We'll be in one of the other rooms if you need something," Leo said.

"Master Splinter's room's downstairs," Donni said, pointing to the room with the screen door.

"Good night," Leo said, smiling.

The four girls mumbled night, shly and went to bed. Leo looked at his brothers. They all knew they had somethings to discuss.


	4. Decisions

Sitting down on the old couch, Donni, Raph, and Mikey looked to their older brother. "What're we gonna do, Leo?" Raph asked. Leo sighed.

"Well, I don't want to send them back to a shelter. They'll most likely run away again," Leo said.

"What do you propose we do with them, then?" Donni asked, kindly.

"We could keep them," Mikey said excitedly. That earned him a whap from Raph. "Ow," he complained. "What was that for?"

"'Cause you're talkin' nonsense," Raph answered his little brother. "Why do we want four girls around here anyway?" he asked.

"What do we do with them, huh, Raph? If they just run away again, we wouldn't be solving anything," Leo argued.

"The sewer ain't exactly 'kid friendly,' Leo," Raph shot back.

"Sure, they would need weekly check-ups, but don't we do that already?" Donni countered. Raph crossed his arms.

"So it's settled then, we keep the girls," Don said.

"Hold on, Donni," Leo said, holding up a hand to stop his younger brother. "This should be a group decision. It's all or nothing."

"What would we do if we kept them?" Mikey asked.

"We could adopt them, like Splinter did with us," Donni offered.

"You mean become like dads to them?" Mikey asked. Donni's eyes lit up. Then his face fell. "What?" Mikey asked.

"We can't be dads to all of them at the same time," Donni reasoned. "It would get too confusing."

"Well, there are four of us and four of them. We could each choose the one that we best relate to or the one that we feel we could help the best," Leo said.

"What do ya' say, Raph?" Mikey asked. "Can we keep 'em?" Mikey started to pout, hoping that it would work.

"Ya' make it sound like we're gettin' pets, not kids," Raph grumbled. "It's hard enough just havin' you around."

"Then you give us a suggestion as to where we can put the girls," Leo said, sternly. "'Cause we're not sending them back to the shelter where they'll just run away again."

"Easy, we send them to the orphanage," Raph said, smugly.

"The orphanages are worse than the shelters, Raph, you know that," Donni piped up. Raph was about to argue when he remembered running past the orphanage and seeing kids being beaten and neglected. Raph sighed. He knew that the girls were better off with them.

"Fine, they can stay with us," he mumbled.

"Alright, then its set," Leo said.

"Then we should discuss who should get whom," Donni said, looking to his brothers.

"Hikari seems to be the self-imposed leader," Leo said. "I could help her with her leadership skills."

"I could help Hinata with her shyness," Don said.

"I'll take Ren," Mikey said. "She's the youngest and so was I, so I can relate."

"Guess I could help Aura with her temper," Raph said. He was still working on his, but he figured that they could work on it together.

"Alright, we'll tell them in the morning," Leo announced. The three younger turtles nodded at their older brother.

"We should get some sleep," Donni suggested, getting up from his spot. Leo nodded.

"You're right, Don," he said, getting up. Raph and Mikey followed the example of the older turtles. "Night!" Leo called.

"Night," came three voices as Leo watched his brothers make their way up to their rooms. He sighed. "Only twenty three and I already have a kid…" he thought to himself.


	5. Breakfast

The turtles had talked Master Splinter before they had started to train at six. He was okay with the girls staying. He was looking forward to it. The four girls all got up around seven. They all had the same clothes on as yesterday, indicating they didn't have much else to wear. The girls were unnoticed as they quietly came down the stairs. Not knowing what else to do, they sat on the floor watching the four brothers as they trained. They were all fighting each other and many times the girls would flinch, thinking that someone was going to get hurt, but the boys pulled away just in time so as not to hurt their brother. The girls sat there, mesmerized by the grace and agility that was being displayed before them.

They weren't noticed until the training session was over an hour later. The four brothers bowed to each other, breathing heavily. "Man, that was fun," Mikey said. Normally, he wouldn't like training sessions, but he had almost pinned Raph, so he felt good. Leo shook his head at his youngest brother. The youngest just smiled a lopsided grin. The girls waited to be seen; too shy to let the turtles know they were there. Donni turned and saw the girls sitting on the floor.

"Well, good morning," he said with a smile. The other turtles turned and looked at the girls.

"Good morning," the girls mumbled, shyly.

"How long have you been up?" Leo asked worrying that they had woke the girls while training. The girls all looked at each other and then at Leo and shrugged. He laughed a bit. "We didn't wake you, did we?" he asked. The girls shook their heads.

"Well, I think it's time for breakfast," Mikey said. Leo just rolled his eyes. Of course Mikey would be thinking of his stomach. He just hoped Mikey grew up a bit so he could be a good father to Ren.

"Come on, let's get you four something to eat," Donni said. The girls made their way into the kitchen and stood there, not sure what to do.

"We're gonna need a bigger table," Raph whispered to Leo, causing Leo to chuckle slightly. It was true, though. They only had a table big enough to seat five. If the girls were going to stay, they needed a bigger table. Mikey had started to pull out all the cereal they had and set them on the table.

"Pick what you want," Donni said as he got out eight bowls and spoons and the milk. He set out four bowls and gave each girl a spoon and then grabbed a bowl and spoon for himself. His brothers did the same. They got there bowls of cereal and leaned against the counter and started to eat. Donni then grabbed a box of Cheerio's and poured some into his bowl. Grabbing the milk, he poured a bit into his bowl and then settled back against the counter. When the girls didn't move, he finished chewing and pointed with his spoon. "Go on," he said kindly. "You must be hungry." The girls nodded, slightly. They sat the table. Just then, Leo thought of something. He set down his bowl of cereal and went over to Hikari, who was trying not to spill the Wheat Thins.

"Let me help," he said, kindly. Gently taking the box from the girl, he shook some in the bowl. He then poured her some milk. Hikari muttered thanks shyly. By now, the younger turtles had gotten the idea and were helping the other girls get their breakfast. After a bit of silence, Hikari spoke up, saying something that was on each of the girls' minds.

"What are you gonna do with us?" she asked. She was staring into her cereal, pushing it around with her spoon. She then looked up. The four turtles put down their almost finished breakfasts and looked at the questioning eyes of the girls.

"Well, we're definitely not sending you back to shelter," Leo said. The girls looked relieved.

"The orphanage is definitely out of the question," Donni said.

"We're not gonna send you back out on the streets," replied Mikey.

"What are ya' gonna do with us, then?" Aura asked.

"Well, we were hopin' that we could adopt ya'," Raph said. The girls looked at the four turtles and set down there spoons. They each had a look of hope in their eyes.

"Really?" Ren asked.

"No one's ever wanted to adopt us before," Hikari said, with a bit of excitement in her voice.

"Well, that was easy," Don mumbled to Mikey, who snickered.

"So, you're all okay with us adopting you?" Leo asked. The girls nodded vigorously.

"What do we call you?" Hikari asked. You could see the excitement in the girls' eyes.

"Depends on who you're talking to," Mikey said. The girls gave him a confused look. "Well, we each decided to adopt one of you, so you, ya' know, wouldn't get confused." Hikari and Hina nodded. The other younger girls just looked at the four turtles, trying to decide who adopted them. Leo could tell all the girls were dying to know who adopted them. He chuckled to himself.

"Bet you're all wondering who adopted who, aren't ya'?" he asked. The girls nodded again.

"Before we start, I just want you all to know that we picked the one we could either relate to the best or help the best. We like you all the same," Donni interjected. The girls gave another nod and waited patiently for them to start.

"Hikari, I have chosen to adopt you," Leo said. Hikari's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly at Leo, who gave her a smile of his own.

"I've chosen Hinata," Donni said, smiling at the shy girl. Hina smiled back, slightly, but her eyes told Don that she was happy to be his adopted daughter.

"I picked you, Aura," Raph said. Aura gave her new father a giant half-smile. Raph returned it with one of his own.

"Which means that I chose you, Ren," Mikey said. Ren gave Mikey an enthusiastic smile. Mikey couldn't help but give her one back. The turtles knew that life had changed around the layer and they were looking forward to the new adventures parenting would bring on.


	6. Nightmares

It had been one month since the turtles had adopted the girls. The boys had begun to think of the girls as their own and were sure that they couldn't love them anymore if they really were their daughters. All of the girls were now calling their adopted fathers "Dad", except for Aura. She still called Raph by his first name.

Hikari explained to Raph that it wasn't personal. Out of all the girls, Aura was the only one who wasn't an orphan. She was dropped off at the shelter by her mom at the age of three. Raph understood Aura's fear of being too attached to him. He was trying to work passed her fear, but felt that he was getting nowhere with her. It was obvious that she was great full for the home and that she liked him, but she was putting up barriers between them.

Raph was currently thinking about ways to connect with his daughter while skimming the newspaper on the couch. The girls were already in bed. Suddenly, he heard the shuffling of small feet in front of him. He was about to tell the girl to go back bed, when he heard her speak. "Daddy?" she asked. Thinking the girl had the wrong turtle, Raph closed his paper. He was surprised to see a teary eyed Aura standing in front of him in her new black nightgown she got from April.

"What's wrong?" Raph asked, worriedly. Aura started to cry a bit more and then launched herself at her adopted father. To say Raph was surprised would be an understatement, but he quickly wrapped his arms around the small girl. "Shhh," he hushed, as she cried on his shoulder. "It'll be all right." He started to gently stroke the young girl's hair comfortingly.

"You won't leave me, right?" Aura asked, clinging to Raph's neck.

"I won't leave you," he said softly. "Come on." He picked her up. Aura's crying had slowed, but she was still sniffling a bit as she buried her face in his neck. "Want me to sleep in your room tonight?" She nodded.

"Raph?" Leo asked, coming up to his younger brother. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Raph replied. "She's just scared, is all." Leo nodded.

"Sleeping in her room tonight?" Leo asked. Raph nodded. Leo clamped his hand on Raph's shoulder and gave him a small smile. Raph returned the smile and walked off to Aura's room. He set her on her bed and gently tucked her in. Raph was about to go sit in the armchair when he felt a tiny hand grab his large one. He looked over his shoulder to see that Aura was crying again.

"Daddy, don't leave," she said. Raph turned around and sat down on the edge of her bed. He gently pulled his arm out of her grip and used his hand to push some of her short hair out of her eyes.

"I'm not leavin'. I'm just gonna sleep in the armchair," he said, softly. Aura got out from underneath her blanket and crawled over to Raph. She then laid her head on his knee so the she was looking up at him. Raph sighed and picked her up again. Grabbing the blanket off the bed, he walked over to the armchair and sat down. He laid Aura down in his lap and she used the arm rest a pillow. She was facing away from him this time. Raph wrapped the blanket around her to keep her warm. A question was forming in his mind as he did so.

"Why do ya' think I'm gonna leave ya'?" Raph asked as he started to make soothing circles on Aura's back with his fingers.

"Because you left me in my dream," Aura said. Raph sighed again and picked Aura up and set her on his lap so that she was sitting.

"I'm not gonna leave ya'," Raph said kindly, but with force. "Ya' have nothin' ta' worry about."

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," Raph repeated. Aura nodded and laid back down. Raph then started to make circles on her back again and she fell asleep in ten minutes. Raph continued to rub her back after she was asleep and started to feel himself fall asleep. Just when he felt himself start to nod off, he heard a soft knock on the door. It opened and Raph looked up to see Leo.

Leo smiled at the scene before him. "She sleeping?" he asked, quietly, as he entered Aura's room. Raph nodded and Leo came over to him and Aura. Running a hand over her hair, Leo asked, "Mind telling me what happened?" Raph sighed.

"She had a dream that I was gonna leave her and now she's convinced that if I'm not by her, I'm gonna leave," Raph said. Leo nodded. He looked at his younger brother. It was obvious that Raph was cold, so Leo went over to Aura's bed. "What are ya' doin'?" Raph asked as Leo picked up a blanket that was folded on the foot of the bed.

"You look cold," was all Leo said as he walked over to Raph. He draped the blanket over the back of the chair.

"I'm fine," Raph said. Truth was, he really was cold, but he didn't want to disturb Aura to wrap himself in a blanket.

"Uh huh, sure," Leo said, sarcastically. He reached down and picked up Aura. She stirred a bit, but went right back to sleep. Raph sighed and pulled the blanket over himself. He held out his arms for his daughter and Leo gently placed her in his arms. Raph then put Aura back in his lap, where she snuggled down into her spot.

------------

Raph woke up the next day to someone snuggling into the front of his shell. He looked down and saw that Aura had moved during the night so that she was now sitting in his lap instead of laying in it. She was using his shell as a pillow and sleeping soundly. Raph noticed that the blanket had fallen off her and he gently wrapped it around her.

After a while of watching her sleep, Aura woke up. She stretched and yawned, almost hitting Raph in the face. "Well, good mornin' ta' you too," Raph said, laughing a bit. Aura looked up at him and smiled.

"You stayed," she said.

"Told ya' I wouldn't leave ya'," Raph said. He looked at the time. It was eight o'clock. He was guessing that Leo let him sleep in due to Aura's nightmare. He sighed. "Alright, little one, time ta' get up." Aura slid gently off her father's lap. "I'll be right outside while you get dress, kay?" Raph asked, thinking that Aura wouldn't want him to go too far away. Aura nodded and watched as her father left the room.

A minute later, the door opened and Aura came out wearing dark blue jeans and a plan black shirt. She had black sneakers on her feet. Aura held her arms out, wanting to be picked up. Raph reached down and picked up the small girl, who leaned her head on his shoulder. It was obvious that she was still tired, but he was sure that she would be fine after breakfast. He came down the stairs to see his brothers and nieces already at the new, larger, table, eating breakfast.

Mikey looked up to see Raph carrying Aura. He had heard about last night along with Donni from Leo. He winked at Raph, who gave a small smile. Leo got up and went over to the counter and pulled together two bowls of cereal as Raph set Aura in her chair. He then turned to Leo and mouthed, "thanks". Leo just smiled and set the bowls down on the table. After a while of eating and a bit of talking, Aura looked up from her bowl and looked to her father.

"Dad?" she asked. Raph looked away from his conversation with Mikey to look at his daughter.

"Hmm?" he asked. He was a bit surprised that he had gotten used to her call him "Dad" so quickly.

"Can I learn how to be a ninja like you?" she asked. Raph looked at his brothers out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll think about it, kay?" he said. Aura nodded and went back to eating.

---------

Later on in the main room, they turtles were talking about weather or not the girls should learn ninjutsu.

"I think it's a good idea," Mikey said. Donni nodded. Leo looked to Raph.

"Have to agree with them," Leo said. Raph sighed.

"Well, it would be a good way to get to know Aura better," he said. After a while of talking, it was decided the girls would learn ninjutsu.


	7. The Way of the Ninja

Leo went over to his daughter and nieces an hour later as they sat on the couch, watching TV and turned the device off. "Uncle Leo," Ren whined in protest to his actions. This caused Leo to chuckle a bit.

"Common," he said, "time to start you ninja training." Hikari looked at her father, a smiled plastered to her face. She was the first one off the couch and in the dojo, followed closely by Aura. Hina and Ren had a race to see who would get there first. Ren won. Leo shook his head and joined his brothers as they slowly made there way to the dojo.

"Mikey, I've been thinking," Donni started, looking at his youngest brother.

"About," Mikey probed.

"Ren's glasses are going to be a problem," he answered.

"How so?" Leo asked, jumping into the conversation.

"Well, besides the fact that they could fall off while she fights, there's the fact that they leave her with plenty of blind spots," Donni answered. Mikey's eyes went wide.

"You're right," he said. "But how do we solve that problem?"

"Simple," Donni said. "We give her contacts for fighting."

"But what about if she's ambushed?" Mikey asked. Leo turned to his brother.

"You could always make her wear them when she leaves the layer," he suggested.

"Sounds good," Mikey said. "But what should we do for this practice?"

"I don't we're gonna get into anythin' that would make her break or lose her glasses, Mike," Raph piped up. Leo nodded, just as they entered the dojo. Mikey couldn't help but laugh at the excited girls. Each of them ran up to their respective father and dragged them along faster.

"Come on, Daddy," Ren said. "You're slow."

"Oh, I'm slow," Mikey asked, picking Ren up upside down. Ren shrieked and laughed as her father bounced her a bit. Mikey put her down just as Leo spoke.

"Alright, come on, sit down," he instructed the hyper girls.

"Let's see how long that lasts," Raph said, laughing as he sat down, cross-legged.

"With how hyper Ren looks, I'd say not even a minute," Donni laughed as he sat to Raph's left, leaving quite a bit of room between them. Mikey sat next to Don and laughed.

"Sure, pick on my kid," he laughed. Don just chuckled and shook his head at Mikey. The girls had sat down a ways in front of their respective father except for Hikari. She sat in the large gap between Hina and Aura. Leo had begun to go around and light all the candles in the dojo. Today was more of a day for explanations and for the girls to practice focusing so he didn't have to worry about the girls bumping into a candle and getting burned. Because, before they could fight, they needed to know the basics. He took an unlit candle that was on a tall, black stand and put it in between Ren and Mikey off to the left so there was no chance of them bumping it. After lighting it, he went over to the other side of the room and put another candle that mirrored the one he just lit. Turning off all the lights in the dojo, Leo sat down in between Raph and Donni and smiled at Hikari.

"Alright, let's start with some ground rules," Leo said. "The fighting style we are teaching you is only to be used as self defense. Never use it to intentionally harm someone. Things like stealth, balance, coordination, and hopefully honor will just naturally become part of your lifestyle."

Donni spoke up, picking up where Leo had left off. "And it truly is a lifestyle. You can't just start for a while and then stop for a couple of years and expect to be able to before. It takes constant training and hard work to hone this difficult martial art. Even Master Splinter is still learning and training," Donni said.

Mikey was the next speak. "You see, ninjutsu is an art that balances the body, mind, and spirit. True mastery comes when you are able to find perfect balance in everything. It's really hard to do and it can take a lifetime to master."

"Before ya' decide that ya' wanna be a ninja, think about what we said," Raph instructed. "Are ya' ready ta' take on that kinda responsibility?" The girls sat quietly for a few minutes, each one going over the pros and cons of becoming a ninja.

Finally, Hikari looked at her father and said, "I'll do it." Her cousins all voiced their agreement and Leo smiled.

"Alright, the first thing we're going to work on is attempting to clear your minds," he said. The girls paid extreme attention to there fathers and uncles as they instructed them through their first training session.

-------------

Later on, after about an hour of failed attempts to clear the girls' minds, Leo got up and started to extinguish the candles around the room, followed by Raph. Donni looked at the girls. "You did well," he said.

"No we didn't," Ren said, sadly. "I couldn't clear my mind." Mikey smiled at his daughter and moved next to her.

"Neither could I," Mikey said. "Took me the longest to do so, but I did cause I never gave up." He gave Ren a hug, which calmed his daughter down. Not one to be down for very long, she sprung up and poked fun at Aura on the way out of the dojo. An audible slap could be heard and the whining of Ren. Donni stood next to Leo.

"Brings you back, the way those two act, doesn't it?" Donni asked with a smile. Leo just smiled.

"Sure does," he said.


	8. Christmas Surprise

Mikey kissed Ren's forehead as he put her to bed that night. Ren looked up at him with wide, questioning eyes. "I see we have a question," he said, tucking the yellow blanket around the small girl.

Ren looked hesitantly at her father as if deciding whether or not to ask her questions. "Is Santa coming to the lair this year?" she blurted. The innocent question pulled at Michelangelo's heart and he smiled.

"I'm sure Santa will come," he assured. He pondered for a moment why Ren would ask such a question. Then it hit him. Christmas was only two weeks away! He tried to remember if he had gotten presents or not and was relieved to remember that there were presents under his bed just waiting to be wrapped that he had bought around Thanksgiving. Ren brought him out of his thoughts with her small voice.

"Are you sure he can find us?" she asked. Mikey's smile widened. He pressed his forehead gently against his daughter's.

"Would I lie to you?" Ren smiled and nuzzled her forehead against her father's as she shook her head.

"No."

"So, do you really need to question if Santa will come?" Ren shook her head again. "So, do you really need to worry?" Another shake of her head. Mikey chuckled slightly and kissed her forehead again and got up.

"Daddy?" she asked, calling him back.

"We just have loads of questions, don't we?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed. Ren looked to her father, her tired eyes full of questions.

"You said that we get to meet Aunt April and Uncle Casey at Christmas. Does Santa know they're coming?" April and Casey had been gone on an expedition in Brazil when their friends took in the four girls and have yet to meet them, but have heard about them. They sent clothes and toys along with the weekly letters that they sent home to help out the four new fathers. In one of the recent letters, April had said that the couple planned to be home on Christmas Eve Day to officially meet the girls.

Mikey leaned down again and nuzzled her forehead. "I'm positive Santa knows," Mikey said. "Now, it's time for bed." Ren nodded and yawned. Smiling, Mikey got up and went to the door. "Night," he whispered.

"Night, Daddy." The tired response came just as he closed the door.

-----------

"Alright, so Case and April should be here soon," Raph said, coming into the kitchen where Mikey and Ren were cooking lunch. Aura was coloring at the table while Leo read the paper. Leo set it down when Raph spoke.

"You're right," he said, looking at the clock on the stove. "Where's Kari?" he asked, using Hikari's nick name.

"Think she's practicin' in the dojo," Raph said. "Kid's as stubborn as ya' are when it comes ta' trainin'." Leo gave a chuckle and got up, going to the dojo to fetch is daughter before their friends came. "Ya' seen Don and Hina, Mike?" Raph asked, taking Leo's spot and newspaper.

"In the lab," Mikey said, taking a pot off the stove and emptying its contents into a strainer. Raph nodded.

"Want me ta' get 'um?" Aura asked, putting down the colored pencil she was using. Raph smiled at his daughter.

"That would be nice, Aura," he said. "Aura started to get up when Raph spoke. "Oh, and if yer stubborn uncle don't listen to ya', tell him that me an' Uncle Mike'll drag him outta his lab by his mask tails." Aura laughed a bit and nodded as she left.

"Uncle Donni?" she asked, knocking on the door of the lab. The door opened and the violet-clad terrapin smiled down at his young niece.

"Yes, sweetie?" he asked.

"Daddy says that Uncle Casey and Aunt April are gonna be here soon and that if you don't come now, he and Uncle Mikey'll drag you outta your lab by your mask tails," Aura said in a rush. Donni laughed at his hyper niece and turned to Hina.

"Common, honey, put every thing away and let's go get ready to meet Aunt April and Uncle Casey." Hina nodded and turned off the microscope she was looking into. Donni cleaned up the lab and ushered Aura and Hina to the main room just as Leo and Kari came out of the dojo. Mikey, Ren and Raph made their way in a bit later. Raph and Mikey joined Leo and Don on the couch, where Ren climbed into Mikey's lap. Laying her head on Mikey's shoulder, she watched the elevator door, waiting for the moment when it would open and she could pounce. Minutes passed by, taking their courage with them. Soon, the four girls were all sitting in their father's laps, nervous.

Not long after the girls sought out comfort in their father's lap the elevator door opened. The girls slid off their fathers lap, but didn't move. Ushering the girls forward, the turtles walked over to their human friends. "Case-Man," Raph called when he saw the fellow male. The man smiled and the two clasped hands. Raph pulled Casey into a one armed hug while still clasping his had and thumped his friend on the back.

"Raph," Casey said, returning the one armed hug.

April stepped out of the elevator not a second later and smiled. "April," Don said, stepping forward and giving the girl a hug.

"Long time, no see, Don," April said, hugging her terrapin friend. Mikey and Leo stepped forward after Raph and Donni.

Leo clasped hands with Casey. "It's good to see you, Casey," he said.

"Good to see you to, Leo," Casey said. Mikey had stepped up to April, enveloping her in a hug.

"Welcome home, April," Mikey said.

"Thank you, Mikey," April answered, letting go. Mikey smiled at April and then looked down when he felt a tug on his hand and saw Ren. She reached her arms outward to her father, indicating she wanted to be picked up. Mikey laughed and picked up the small girl. "And this must be Ren," April said.

"Yep," Mikey answered. "Ren, say hi to Aunt April." Ren muttered out a shy "hi" and buried her face in her father's neck. April chuckled slightly.

"And who do we have here?" Casey asked, squatting so he could look into Aura's eyes better. Aura simply grabbed Raph's hand.

"Aura," Raph said. "Say hi to Uncle Case." Raph nudged his daughter with his hand that was still holding hers.

Aura looked at the man in front of her. "Hi," she said.

"And this is Hikari," Leo said, pushing Hikari forward.

"Hi," was all they got out of her.

"So you must be Hinata, am I right?" Casey asked the girl in Donni's arms as he stood up. She nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Well, hello there," Master Splinter said as he walked over to the two adult humans.

"Hello, Master Splinter," April said, smiling.

"I think we should all go and get some lunch," Master Splinter said. "I believe that Michelangelo has prepared it for us."

Mikey bounced Ren in his arms causing her to giggle. "Ren helped me, didn't you?" he asked. Ren smiled and nodded.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Casey asked. Everyone walked into the kitchen where lunch was sitting out. Macaroni and cheese and hot dogs sat on the table. "Looks great," Casey said and Ren smiled at her unofficial uncle.

------

"Alright, time to decorate the tree," Leo announced, once lunch was finished and everything was cleaned up. The girls sprang from their chairs and ran out into the main room. All shyness had been forgotten during lunch and Aura and Ren ran back in and grabed April and Casey's hands, pulling them out of their chairs. Ren held her arms out to April, wanting to be carried and Aura simply pulled on her uncle's hand.

"You want up?" April asked, smiling.

"Please?" Ren asked.

April laughed. "Alright, sweetie," she said, lifting the girl into her arms. Ren laid her head on April's shoulder as she was carried while Aura excitedly dragged Casey into the main room where Hikari and Hina were waiting. Once the two humans were seated on the couch, all four girls ran into the kitchen and came out dragging their fathers.

"Alright, alright, I'm comin'," Raph laughed.

"Apparently not fast enough," Leo chuckled.

"Come on, Grandpa," Ren called to Master Splinter. He came out of the kitchen, a wide smile on his face.

"I am not as young as I once was, child," he laughed. "Patience." Master Splinter made his way to the couch, where he sat. The turtles helped their daughters decorate the tree, lifting them so they could reach the top area.

--------

"Alright, bed time," Raph said, picking up a yawning Aura.

"Wait, we need cookies and milk for Santa," Ren said. Mikey smiled and picked up Ren and carried her into the kitchen. His brothers and nieces followed not long after.

"You guys pick out the cookies," Leo said, putting Kari down. "I'll get the milk." The girls spent some time picking out the cookies and Leo poured the milk. Carrying the plate and glass, he set them down next to the tree. Aura set down a card for Santa and everyone went to bed. Casey and April spent the night in Mikey's room while he spent the night in Leo's room.

------

"Wake up, Daddy!" Hina called, shaking Donatello awake.

"I'm up, I'm up," a groggy Donni said, getting out of bed. He smiled at Hina and tied on his mask before going out of his room. He laughed seeing that all his brothers were being dragged out of their rooms the same way. The girls sat their fathers on the couch and ran back to Mikey's room where Casey and April were.

"Wake up!" The girls called jumping onto the bed.

"God, what hit?" Casey asked, snapping upright.

"Four small girls, hun," April said, sitting up as well.

Casey laughed. "Looks like four excited girls." The couple got out of bed. Ren stretched her arms out to April, who gladly picked the girl up. Hina looked up hopefully at Casey. The man smiled at the adorable little girl and picked her up. Raph laughed when he saw the group coming out of Mikey's room. Ren was telling April all about the dream she had last night. She talked about it all the way to the couch where she wriggled out of April's lap and went over by the tree where presents were. The girls all went over the plate of cookies and saw that they were all bitten into and that the milk was half gone.

"Santa came!" Ren shouted.

"Told you he would come," Mikey said, laughing. Just then, Master sat down in the recliner.

"Good morning everyone," he said.

"Morning Father," the turtles responded.

"Can we open presents now?" Kari asked. Leo laughed.

"Yes, you may," he said. A little while later, there was paper all over the ground and every present was opened. The girls were about to open their stuff and play with it when Raph spoke.

"Now time for our presents," Raph said, getting up and going into the kitchen. He brought out four presents, each wrapped in a different colored paper. He handed Hikari a long one wrapped in blue paper, Hina an even longer present wrapped in purple paper, Aura a small one wrapped in red paper and Ren a smaller one wrapped in orange paper. The shapes were familiar.

"Alright, open," he said.

"Carefully, though," Donni warned. The girls did as they were asked and gasped in surprise at what they got.

In Aura's hands sat a beautiful pair of Sai. The handle was wrapped in black cloth and her name was etched on the bottom of the weapon. Hina was now holding a Bo staff with green cloth in the middle of the beautiful wooden weapon. Her name was carved into the weapon. Ren looked at the amazing pair of nunchuku that were bestowed upon her. Wrapped around the wooden weapons was yellow cloth and her name was carved into the bottom of each wooden piece. Hikari was now the proud owner of a beautiful pair of katanas. White cloth encased the handles and her name was also etched on the bottom of the weapon, but also on the sheaths that encased the weapons. She gently pulled off the sheaths and stared dumbfounded at the beautiful weapons.

The four girls looked up. They didn't know what to say. Ren quickly, but gently, put down her weapons and launched herself at her father, wrapping her arms around him. The other three girls followed the example of the youngest. After a while of thank yous and some crying, the weapons were put away. "My gifts shall go next," Master Splinter said. "Close your eyes and your fathers will give you the gifts." The girls did as they were told and waited for their gifts. The turtles tied something around the girls head and lead them to the bathroom so they could look at themselves. "Open your eyes, young ones," Master Splinter instructed. The girls opened their eyes and looked into the mirror to see masks tied upon their heads. Hina's was green, Kari's, white, Ren's, yellow, and Aura's, black. This time it was Hina who started the chain of hugs.

"Alright, downstairs for our presents," Casey said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together.

The girls went back downstairs, each playing with the long tail of the mask. They sat on the floor, looking up at the couple with excited eyes. Casey handed each girl a small present. "Go ahead and open," April said. The girls did as they were told and ripped the paper of the presents and saw a small box. The kind that held necklaces. Inside each box was a heart shaped locket. The girls gasped and ran over to their fathers, begging them to help put the lockets on.

"Thank you," they all said in unison. Then the girls all looked at each other and Kari gave a nod.

"We'll be right back," Aura said and before a word could be spoken, the girls had run to their rooms. They came out not ten seconds later and ran back downstairs, holding something behind their backs. Aura and Kari set down something in the midst of the wrapping paper and no one quite saw what the objects were. Then the girls approached their fathers.

"Merry Christmas," they said in one unified voice. They held out pictures to their fathers, each one decorated in a different way. The turtles smiled at the girls and then looked at the pictures.

"These are wonderful," Leo said, pulling his daughter into his arms.

"They sure are," Donni agreed, grabbing Hina.

"Come here, baby girl." Mikey smiled, hugging Ren.

"Beautiful," Raph muttered, swallowing Aura in his arms. The turtles let go after a minute and then the girls went and got the objects that were left on the ground amidst the wrapping paper.

Walking over to April and Casey, Kari held out a picture. "We made this for you," she said, handing April the picture.

"It's very pretty," April said. Casey nodded. The girls smiled, proud of their work. They then walked over to Master Splinter and Aura held out a picture to him.

"It is wonderful," he said. "I shall hang it with my most prized possessions." Smiling, the girls went over to their fathers and climbed into their laps.

"So, did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?" Donni asked. The girls nodded.

"Did you get everything you wanted, Daddy?" Hina asked.

"Yep, and she's sitting right here in my lap," he said, smiling. Hina beamed at her father and cuddled up to him, where she spent most of the day.


	9. Happy Birthday, Hikari

Donatello came down the stairs, a present in his hands. Today was Hikari's tenth birthday and Hikari was being thrown a surprise party. Kari was currently out with Leo, who was taking her to the Central Park Zoo. Everyone else was in charge of getting the party put together. Donni looked at all the streamers all over the ceiling, which Ren would most likely want to play with once they were taken down. His gaze wandered over to the birthday banner and smiled seeing Raph putting it up with Casey's help. The two were arguing about how high they should hang it. Donni smiled and shook his head.

He put the present he was carrying on a folding table near the bridge that covered the small pond in their lair and went into the kitchen. Mikey had prepared the cake earlier this morning and his other two nieces and his daughter were in charge of decorating the cake, under Master Splinter's supervision. He walked up behind Hina and lovingly stroked his daughter's hair. Hina looked up, her mouth stained purple from the frosting she had been eating. "You're supposed to decorate the cake, Hina, not yourself," Donni laughed.

"I did, see," she said, pointing to the cake. The white undercoat of frosting was now covered in hearts, stars, and poke-dots. "Grandpa said we could eat some frosting." Donni looked up at his smiling rat of a father standing by the sink. Gently leading Hina from her seat, he took her over to the sink and started to clean her up.

"You do this just to spite me, don't you, Father?" he said, a slight smile on his face.

"Are grandfathers not supposed to spoil their grandchildren, my son?" Master Splinter asked.

"Spoiling them is one thing," Donni said, wiping Hina's hands on a towel. "Trying to get my kid all hyper just because you think that it would be funny to watch me try to calm her down is another."

"I do not think it would be funny, my son. I know it would be," the old rat said smiling. Donatello shook his head.

"Go find Uncle Mikey and see if he's doing anything. If he is, ask if you can help. Stay away from the ladders Uncle Raph and Uncle Casey are on, okay?" Donni instructed his daughter. Hina nodded and went off. Donni went over to Aura and also lead her over to the sink.

"I used to let you do this as well," Master Splinter said, smiling at old memories.

"I remember," Donni said. "Mikey would eat the cake before it was fully decorated," Donni laughed as he washed Aura up. Aura was currently trying to clean off her fingers herself by eating the frosting off of them. "Don't do that," Donni scolded, gently. "Let me wash you up." Aura was a little bit harder to clean up than Hina. She didn't like her face being washed by other people, but she would never fully get cleaned if she did it herself. Only Raph could get her to sit still while she was being cleaned. After sending her off by Mikey to see if she could help him as well, he pulled Ren over by the sink. She was positively covered in frosting. "You're messier than you're cousins," he said, causing Ren to giggle. "Reminds me of your father." Ren positively beamed at that. "Speaking of your father, go and see if you can help him."

"Okay," she said, skipping off. Donni chuckled and cleaned up the area around the cake. Taking it out to the table with the food, he walked over to Raph and Casey, who were standing back, seeing if the banner was crooked.

"Looks a little crooked," Donni said. In truth, the banner looked fine, but Donni couldn't help himself. It was his right as Raph's older brother to pick on him every now and then. Raph looked at the banner, and was about to say something when he turned to look at his brother, who had a giant smirk on his face.

"Get outta here, ya' moron," Raph smirked, good naturedly pushing his brother. Donni just laughed and walked off to go and finish up setting up for the party.

----------

An hour later, Leo was walking down the sewers, Kari's small hand grasped tightly within his own. She was excitedly talking all about what she liked at the zoo, which was pretty much, everything. Leo smiled brightly at Kari, commenting now and then, but just letting his daughter chatter on and on to her heart's content. They finally reached the lair and Leo used the key pad to open the door. Leo led his daughter into dark the dark lair. The only light came from the open lair door behind them, but soon, that light ceased to exist as Leo closed the door. Kari's hand tightened in Leo's grasp and he felt her press herself into his side. "It's alright," he whispered. He walked forward until he came to the light switch, Kari still pressed against him out of fear.

Flipping on the lights, everyone jumped out of their hiding place and shouted, "Surprise!" Hikari jumped in surprise, but a smile slowly replaced the fearful look on her face.

Kari was pulled backwards into a hug from her father. "Happy birthday, sweetheart," he said. Hikari looked up at her father and smiled. Ren walked forward and placed a crown on Kari's head that she, Hina, and Aura made.

The party was soon in full swing and Hikari was now opening her presents. From Don and Hina, she got some children's chapter books. Raph and Aura gave her anther set for her Polly Pockets. Mikey and Ren got her Monsters Inc. the Video Game. Casey and April's gift was a collection of Disney movies. She got a music box from Master Splinter. Leo had yet to give his daughter his gift. He got up and started to head towards his room.

"Daddy?" Hikari asked. Leo turned around and smiled.

"Don't you want you're present from your father?" he asked. Kari smiled brightly and nodded vigorously. Leo winked at his daughter and headed off to his room. He came back with a small bundle wrapped in a blanket resting in his arms like a sleeping baby. "This is about as wrapped as it's going to get," Leo said, kneeling so Hikari could reach the bundle easier. Hikari reached out for the bundle to pull back the blanket when it moved. Kari's hand flew back and she jumped. "It's alright," Leo soothed. "It won't hurt you." Hikari reached out again and pulled back the blanket, revealing a beautiful albino German shepherd puppy. It's white fur prominent against Leo's green skin and the blue blanket. The puppy lifted its head and looked at Hikari with big, brown eyes. She could see it wag its tail under the blanket. Hikari squealed and grabbed the puppy from her dad. The puppy only wagged its tail harder. Kari brought the puppy closer. "He doesn't have a name yet," Leo said as his nieces circled around Kari to get a better look at the puppy. "So, you get to pick his name out."

"Akira," Hikari said, after mentally searching through some names she had heard.

"I think that means intelligent. Good name for him," Donni said.

---------

After cake, all four girls were hyped up and were playing with little Akira. Kari had a streamer that had fallen from the ceiling in her hand and was running around, Akira chasing her and barking excitedly. The other three girls were running next to her. All four girls were laughing and screaming playfully. Kari ran past Leo, who reached out and snatched up his daughter. "Gotcha," he said. Kari laughed and screeched. Akira came to a stop at Leo's feet and barked happily.

Ren came to a stop at the couch and sat down with a big yawn, which passed around to the other three girls. "Look's like it's time for bed," Donni said. Leo nodded.

"C'mon," he said, leading Hikari to her room. "Akira can sleep with you." Hikari smiled brightly and let herself be led to her room. She saw her cousins being ushered off to bed as well. After getting ready for bed, Leo tucked Kari in. Akira jumped onto the bed where he laid down at the foot of her bed. "Good night, sweetheart," he said, kissing her forehead. "I love you," he said.

"Love you, too, Daddy," she said. Leo smiled and gave her one last kiss to the forehead. He got up and walked over to the wall, where he plugged in her night light before turning out the light and leaving.


	10. Sick

Hinata sat on the exam table in her father's lab with a thermometer in her mouth. Her normally bright eyes wer dull and her skin, pale. The thermometer beeped, letting Donatello know that it was finished taking her temperature. Donni gently took it out of his daughter's mouth and looked at the reading. "101.7, you have a fever sweetie," Donni said, washing off the thermometer and sticking it back with the rest of his medical equipment. "Common, let's get you to bed."

Hina jumped off the table and picked up her new little blue Burmese kitten named Kado, which means gateway in Japanese. Donni had given him to her for her tenth birthday, following Leo's example. Following her father out of his lab, Hina nearly tripped over Aura's new Siberian husky puppy she got from Raph. Aura had named him Nari for his thunderous bark, since Nari meant thunder. It was loud and deep, even though the puppy was only three months old. Looking up at Hina, Nari barked loudly startling a sleeping Kado that was nestled in Hina's arms. "Hush, Nari," Donni commanded. Nari just gave another bark.

"Come, Nari," Aura said, seeing that he was bothering Donni and Hina. The puppy took off, hearing his master's call.

"Common, Hina," Donni said gently, leading his daughter into her room. Upon arriving in her room, Donni spotted Ren's new kitten, an orange tabby named Kamin, or joyful, sleeping on Hina's pillow. Donni picked up the sleeping kitten and set him on the floor, waking him up. He looked up angrily at Donni. "Don't look at me like that, go find Klunk," Donni ordered. Klunk was Mikey's orange tabby of seven years and had unofficially adopted Kamin as his own kitten, much like Mikey had adopted Ren.

Sticking his tail up in the air and swishing it back and forth, Kamin made a dramatic exit, not unlike one Mikey or Ren would make. Laughing to himself, Donni pulled back Hina's blanket so she could climb in. Putting Kado on the bed, Hina climbed in. Donni kissed her forehead and tucked her in. "Can I get you anything?" he asked.

"Can I have some tomato soup?" Hina asked. Donni smiled.

"Sure, honey," Donni said, handing Hina her teddy bear he gave her for Christmas last year. Donni smiled and left the room. Going into the kitchen, he saw Mikey cooking lunch.

"Hey, Mike," he called. Mikey turned around.

"Hey, Don, what's the news on my niece?" he asked.

"Sick with a cold. She wants tomato soup."

"Doesn't she always?" Mikey laughed. He passed by Donni on his way to the cupboard and grabbed a tomato soup can and tossed it to Donni, who caught it easily. "Here ya go," he said.

"Thanks, bro," Don said, going over to the stove to start making the soup. Soon, the kitchen was filled with the sweet smell of tomato soup. Donni took the pot off the stove and carefully poured its creamy contents into a bowl. He set it on a tray and started to make a grilled cheese to go with it. Donni wasn't the best cook in the family, Mikey held that title, but Donni could make pretty good tomato soup and grilled cheese. Once the grilled cheese was a nice golden brown, Donni put it on a plate. The plate was then put onto the tray. Pouring a glass of milk, Donni placed it on the tray as well.

Picking the tray up, Donni started to make his way out of the kitchen only to almost run over his hyper little niece as she ran in. With the skill only a ninja could have, he avoided her at the last second, swiftly lifting the tray over Ren's head. Bringing it back down, he smiled to see not a drop off the soup or milk spilled. "Be careful, Ren," he scolded as the young girl cuddled into her father's side, obviously looking for attention.

Making his way to Hina's room, Donni set the tray down in front of here. "Here you are," he said. Hina sat up and started to eat slowly. After a while of silence, Donni was going to leave when Hina caught his attention.

"Daddy, do you always wear a coat in the city?" she asked. Donni sighed and sat back down. He had waiting for her to ask that. He was surprised that she hadn't asked before now.

"Well, sweetie, not everyone would… accept us," he said, hoping that would satisfy the girl. His hopes were in vain.

"Why?"

"Because… people can be afraid of things that are different, you see. Your uncles and I are very different from the people above and they might fear us. We do this so we don't scare them," I explained.

"That's stupid. You aren't scary," she said, giggling.

"I'm not?" the terrapin asked in mock surprise as he took the tray away from Hina and set it on her night stand. A playfully evil smirk came across his face and he gave a mock roar as he started to tickle the young girl's stomach. Hina burst out laughing and started kicking and squirming. After a while of her father mercilessly tickling her stomach, Donni stopped, smiling brightly at her daughter. He noticed the sleepy look in her eye. "You know what the best medicine for a cold is?" he asked. She shook her head. "Sleep." Hina, getting the hint, nodded and laid down. Donni once again tucked his daughter in and hugged her. "Love you," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Love you, too, Daddy," Hina said. Donni smiled and got up, turning out the light, activating her night light. Going into the main room, he sat down on the couch. Leo was sitting in the recliner with Kari laying on the floor next to him, coloring. Akira was curled up next to her. Every now and then, Kari would show her father a finished picture, and each time the girl would receive praise and a warm smile. Donni noticed a large pile of pictures next to him and three more spread out next to the girl. Once Kari noticed her uncle, she gathered up on of the piles and came over to him.

"Here you go, Uncle Donni," she said, handing him the pile. He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Kari," he said. He looked through the pile and smiled.

"Hina sleeping?" Leo asked, helping his daughter crawl into his lap.

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll be out for the rest of the day." Leo nodded.

"It's just a cold?" Donni nodded.

"Most definitely. She'll be better in no time," Donni assured his brother. Leo nodded as Donni turned back to watch the history show Leo was watching.


End file.
